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A letter from Leith Fujii in Thailand

May 2012

Dear Family and Friends in Christ,

Leith with B.I.T. student mission team training for their mission trip in April 2012

Carol has just returned from being with her mom, Jane Hamada, in New Mexico. At 91 years old, she has adjusted well since Carol’s father went to be with the Lord last year and is comfortable in her new assisted living arrangement. Thank you for your prayers and support for all of us; God has graciously comforted and given healing and strength during our time of grieving.

During Carol’s time back in the States, besides visiting with some of our supporting churches, she also was able to briefly visit with three of our children. We look forward to seeing Mark the next time we're in the States; he is working with a Seattle PR firm promoting Microsoft’s X-box division. Lani, a junior at Saint Mary’s in California, came out to visit in Los Alamos during her Spring/Easter break. Shortly afterward Joy and Carol “rendezvoused” at Karin’s new location in Washington, D.C. Joy and her husband, EJ, are now living in Saratoga Springs, New York. After some time of readjustment following her time in Afghanistan and coming off active duty in the army, Joy has just been accepted into a nursing program near her new home. In D.C. Karin’s interest in African community development carries on from the Peace Corps in her new position with the African Development Foundation.

Jane Hamada, vibrant at 91 years old

While Carol was doing our family “thing” in the States, I was back to my microwave chef routine on the other side of the Pacific. I say I had enough to keep me out of trouble, but maybe Carol hasn’t been back home long enough to get the full report yet! Anyway, I didn’t give Carol more than a day before I had a line-up of people staying in our home as our guests prepared for ministry to other parts of the world.

The first group included three of our Master of Divinity (M.Div.) alumni from BIT (Bangkok Institute of Theology). Together with two Burmese students from a sister seminary, they are doing ministry exploration and vision building in a neighboring restricted-access country (RAC). While there they will be joined by another team of (3) BIT students who are coming from a summer field ministry in an adjacent RAC. These brief cross-cultural ministry experiences are valuable for equipping young ministry leaders, but our objective for these projects encompasses even more than the benefit to these young ministers and their new friends of other cultures.

A broader vision of helping the WHOLE Thai church mobilize for global ministry has really emerged this year as a team of mission-minded BIT students have prayed, studied and sacrificially worked to serve our BIT community and local churches. They have seen the need to help our Thai church move past the pattern/identity of being a mission-receiving church and are beginning to take this message beyond the borders of Thailand.

Mission Team 2012

The Thai church needs to gain God’s heart for the whole world and experience God’s provision as we trust Him to take whatever we can offer and use it to accomplish ministry beyond what we can imagine (2 Corinthians 1:9, 10). So in this year’s project, rather than a focus on raising the sizeable amount needed to send a team (of three) students to the unreached people group that we have focused on in two previous trips, the Missions Leadership Team focused on serving the churches by taking the message of mobilizing for missions to as many churches and leaders as possible. Their goal was expressed in terms of numbers of supporting churches rather than in terms of funds received…and the students boldly went in faith to bring to the churches this vision of a global mission movement. And the Spirit of God blessed their unpolished, yet earnest, efforts. A new generation of mission mobilizers is growing through the experience, the faith of many has been strengthened, and leaders and various churches are beginning to respond to the challenge. The team of three will return next week with experiences to share that will encourage and bless the Thai church onward. Please pray with us for this!

In closing, on behalf of the Church of Christ in Thailand partner in ministry, may we again thank you for your faithful prayers and financial support. We consider it a great privilege to be an extension of your life and ministry as together we find in Christ our all in all. Hallelujah!

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Comments

Thanks for this wonderful report. I praise God for what you and your chuch and spiritual community are doing in the country and in outreach to other places. May God continue to bless you, your family, and your work.
Blessings,
Audrey Beslow, Snohomish, WA, USA by Audrey Beslow on 07/09/2012 at 2:39 p.m.

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